49. Welcome to the Valley of Horror

Image: OpenAI.
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I.

Let’s get straight to the point and talk about Sora, OpenAI’s new AI image generator. We knew that video would be the next ‘wow’ moment in generative AI, following on from text, images and sound. Experiments have been going on for some time, but those first AI videos were simply obviously fake and unrealistic. Like this one, in which someone who looks a bit like Will Smith eats a plate of spaghetti.

If we are to believe the creators, Sora produces stunning videos in the blink of an eye based on just a few lines of text. The OpenAI website already features dozens of examples that you’ve no doubt seen on social media over the past few days. At first glance, the images are stunning. Particularly the lighting effects and the resolution of the videos.

If you look more closely, you’ll see that none of it makes any sense. Not yet, at least. The first Sora video I saw was of a cat waking a woman up in bed. If you look at the sheets and the cat’s fur, it looks bizarrely realistic. Until you look again and see that the cat has three legs and that suddenly a magical hand is sticking through a sheet.

The scariest one is the clip of the birthday granny standing by a cake and pretending to blow out the candles. She’s laughing hysterically at something off-screen, but in a way that suggests someone is holding a gun to her back, forcing her to have fun. She’ll never manage to blow out the candles. In the background, we see a group of people behaving inhumanely. I read somewhere online that these people have just been given hands for the first time and don’t know what to do with them. You could watch it over and over again.

Everyone finds this creepy because it looks so soulless. But it’s also very clever. Wow, that this is possible. Yet it’s mainly just very creepy.

It seems to me that it would be particularly difficult to create a coherent feature film based on text prompts, but it won’t be long before the first Sora horror film appears. That always happens when people lacking inspiration see something new and want to jump on the bandwagon quickly. When Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh entered the public domain, the first trashy horror films were already waiting in the wings (I’ve seen one).

The good fortune for horror filmmakers now is that Sora’s images are so steeped in the uncanny valley effect that nightmares tumble over one another to present themselves to the viewer.

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II.

You can’t help but gain a greater respect for human craftsmanship when you read The Beast. If you ever decide to read a comic strip again, pick up these two volumes. You won’t regret it.

The Beast is a tribute to Marsupilami, the famous yellow comic character with the long tail, created by André Franquin. He first appeared in a Spirou adventure but subsequently got his own series of comic books. The Beast is a different kettle of fish: less comical and colourful, a lot rawer and deeply moving.

The story is about a beast roaming the streets of Brussels in 1955, after escaping from poachers who wanted to sell him. The young animal lover François finds the battered creature and takes him home to recover. But of course, that goes wrong too. Meanwhile, all sorts of storylines intertwine. A teacher (modelled, incidentally, on Franquin) doesn’t take the headmaster’s strict rules too seriously and has his eye on François’s single mother. Then there is a cryptozoologist who hopes to become famous with the discovery of the beast. And François himself has to contend with bullies at school.

You constantly sense the period in which The Beast is set. It is the post-war years and people have lost loved ones. They are trying to pick up the pieces of their lives and make the best of it, but they also eye each other with suspicion and do not hide their feelings.

Although the story reads like a gripping film, you should buy The Beast primarily for the artwork. The books are published as deluxe hardcovers in an unusual, almost square format. Inside, there are atmospheric illustrations that sometimes span entire pages.

It’s a feast for the eyes; it’s phenomenal. You’ll be gutted when the story’s over, though I understood from the comic book seller that creators Zidrou and Frank PĂ© enjoyed making the books so much (and they’ve been successful with them) that there might well be a new instalment in the pipeline.

PS.

Marvel is reviving its X-Men animated series from the 1990s on Disney+ from 20 March. Whilst watching the trailer (which looks like a thirty-year-old series, but modern!), hearing the opening music instantly transported me back to my childhood. Perhaps the X-Men theme is even more iconic than the intro to the Spider-Manseries from 1994.

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It’s shaping up to be a great year for Wolverine anyway. Hugh Jackman is dusting off his claws once again to return as the superhero in Deadpool & Wolverine. Whilst Deadpool lies next to a copy of Secret Wars in the trailer below, the shadow of Wolverine steps into the frame.The Marvel Cinematic Universe could do with this film, I reckon. In cinemas from July.

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The French village of Seine-Port is launching a War on Phones. Residents voted on whether smartphones should be banned from public spaces, and a small majority were in favour. [If you’re lost, just ask someone](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/10 Feb/fighting-the-smartphone-invasion-the-french-village-that-voted-to-ban-scrolling-in-public). It sounds more drastic than it is; there are no penalties or fines if you do end up looking at your phone. But do expect verbal encouragement from bystanders not to do so.

“And where does that sound come from, that whooofffff -whoofff -whoof?” As a teenager, I was mad about hip-hop, and Eigen Wereld by Opgezwolle is still considered in a league of its own in the Netherlands. Just as Vloeistof was. Omroep Zwart is producing a podcast series about the making of Eigen Wereld, the album that turned out to be the swan song of the rap group from Zwolle. TopNotch label boss interviewed members Rico, Delic and Sticks, resulting in a candid, profound and at times hilarious documentary.

“Luckily, I had the presence of mind to cut out that tuna salad line,” says Sticks, looking back on a track in which he describes his rhymes as being as fine as tuna salad. “Mind you, I do make a pretty good tuna salad with a bit of mayonnaise, a bit of spice
 and then an apple and an onion and a caper and so on. That’s actually a pretty good tuna salad, so I’m not lying, but you don’t really need to rap about that either.”

Listen on Spotify or your favourite podcast app.

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I’ve written two more articles on the impact of AI on our society. You can read them on NU.nl.

In March 2021, the talented Flemish musician Tamino is putting the finishing touches to the lyrics for his second album. Together with a friend, he retreats to a cabin on the heath at the edge of a wood. They decide not to speak to each other during their stay. They visit a cave and build a man out of branches in the field. A wicker man.

It lasts twenty minutes, this film by Bastiaan Lochs, with beautiful images and the lovely sound of the wind. It shows that the creative process itself, the search for inspiration, can be art in its own right. AI won’t be able to do that.

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